Pup's ears, spirit healing after abuse

Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, February 7, 2010

The older model, white Cadillac was being driven down Garfield Street near the hospital when a pup was tossed out the window.

“Just like trash,” explained Homer Ellinger, of Pet Solution, who is currently providing the pup sanctuary.

A kind Midlander witnessed the cruelty that recent day and rescued the baby pit bull, whose ears were not yet healed after they had been chopped. The ears had been mutilated and mostly removed for the purpose of fighting, animal officials believe, but this puppy is timid and discarded as a result.

The woman who scooped up the puppy looked for a safe place to leave it, after having it checked out at the vet. Desperate, she e-mailed Ellinger a photo of the dog, which showed the fresh brutality inflicted on the ears.

“When she e-mailed that picture, I just broke down and started balling and said, ‘bring him over,’” he said. The ears were believed to be cut to keep other fighting dogs from getting hold of them.

But those ears, and perhaps the dog’s spirit, are healing now.

He now enjoys love and playful attention — not to mention an upscale pet motel room that rents for $22 a day — at Ellinger’s place of business where he and his wife live and work. Ellinger’s wife Debbie hands the puppy over to visitors and customers interested in petting him.

“So he sees everybody is good, not just me,” she said. That’s because pit bulls, as she explained, are very protective of their owners.

Because they were originally bred for bull-baiting and later dog fighting, the breed itself is known for attacks. But, properly brought up, they can also make great family dogs, as Animal Services Director Paul O’Neill explains.

“All those traits of strength, pain tolerance, wanting to please,” make people who like to fight dogs seek out pit bulls, O’Neill said. “But raised properly, they’re some of the best family dogs you can get.”

When it comes to those raised for the purpose of fighting, O’Neill says he saw more cases of mutilated ears when he worked in Bryan-College Station. About 40 percent of all unclaimed animals at the shelter are at least half-breed pit bulls.

Sheriff Gary Painter says his deputies have broken up dog fights over the years. But there have been no recent reports of area dog fights.

Since there’s no way to know any given dog’s history or exposure to violence, the animal shelter doesn’t adopt out unclaimed pit bulls.

As for the pup rescued on Garfield Street, the Ellingers are “accepting applications” from those interested in adopting, while tossing around the idea of keeping the dog themselves.

“He’s already been through enough, I would have to be certain it is a good home,” Ellinger said. The dog would have to be an inside pet because the ears are cropped so short his caretakers say rain would cause chronic infections.

I’m reminded of a story in this newspaper several years ago when two pit bulls were running loose and attacked an elderly woman out walking her dachshund. Her puppy soon after died from injuries inflicted by the stray pits. The lady also was injured.

Then I’m also reminded of another woman with a pit bull, docile as can be and a gentle, playful companion for her grandchildren.

No matter where this little pit bull’s permanent home will be, one thing seems certain.